1. Field
Exemplary embodiments relate to an X-ray imaging apparatus which is configured for irradiating X-rays onto an object to produce an X-ray image, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
An X-ray imaging apparatus is used to check, diagnose, or detect the internal materials, tissue, or structure of an object, such as a human body, an animal, or a baggage case, using X-rays (also called Roentgen rays). Specifically, the X-ray imaging apparatus is used to detect an abnormal tissue or material, such as a human body's inside lesions, in order to understand the inside structure of an object or a component, or to scan baggage at an airport.
The X-ray imaging apparatus visualizes the inside of an object, such as a human body, by placing the object on a stand or at a predetermined location, irradiating X-rays onto the object in a specific direction, for example, in a vertical direction or in a horizontal direction, then detecting the X-rays which propagate through the object, and producing an X-ray image based on the detected X-rays.
The X-ray imaging apparatus visualizes the inside structure of an object based on a phenomenon that X-rays show different transmission or absorption characteristics based on the properties (for example, densities) of materials constituting an object.
The X-ray imaging apparatus includes Computed Tomography (CT), Full Field Digital Mammography (FFDM), and an X-ray imaging apparatus for angiography, which produce X-ray images by using different kinds of X-rays.
When the X-ray imaging apparatus for angiography is used, an intervention specialist makes an incision of about 3 mm in a target area of a patient's skin, inserts a thin tube of about 2 mm called a catheter into the patient's blood vessel, and injects a medication such as a contrast medium so that the patient's blood vessels (veins and arteries) are shown through an X-ray image. An X-ray imaging apparatus for angiography, which is generally used for angiography at hospitals, provides two-dimensional (2D) X-ray images in real time using a single X-ray source and an X-ray detector. Accordingly, when a specialist performs a procedure with operation tools (e.g., catheter) while seeing complicated blood vessel images, the specialist may have difficulty in distinguishing the front and rear locations of the blood vessels and the front and rear locations of the tools and the blood vessels.